


we're even.

by littlestormwitch



Category: The Folk of the Air - Holly Black
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-28
Updated: 2019-07-28
Packaged: 2020-07-23 18:00:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20012488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlestormwitch/pseuds/littlestormwitch
Summary: "What makes you so sure?" she wondered, keeping her voice down. Cardan laughed softly, and she felt it reverberate through the blade toward her hand. "You played with me, and then exiled me, what makes you so sure I don't crave a little revenge?" she asked, slightly moving her chin up. His smile only got wider.[based off @/DarkBeautifulAt on twt art]





	we're even.

"Tell me about the mortal world," Cardan's voice raised above the metallic sound the swords produce as they meet above their head, making Jude huff an annoyed breath before she pushed his sword aside.  
"No," she replied firmly, striking again and making Cardan take a step back, quickly raising his arms to stop her blade. He grinned, the hair on his forehead curled and pressed down by the thin ring above his head, a glint of amusement in his eyes.  
"Why?" he makes his voice sound sweeter, forcing Jude to look at his face as a frown narrows her brows. Her rage grew, and she had to restrain herself from hitting him on the head with the plate of the sword, but still she pushed a little harder, making him take another step back to maintain his balance. "You're not gonna answer?" he asked then, still grinning.  
"Because I hated it," she admitted, hitting him again, moving her gaze just for a few seconds – enough to see Cardan's expression falter. Her second hit this time is stronger, accompanied by her annoyed words. "And I hated you even more for sending me there," she almost growled, tasting the bitter truth on her lips, kicking the edge of his dress out of the way – _that stupid dress he gave her once she came back_ – before looking up again.  
"Do you still hate me, Jude?" he asked slowly, gently, cocking his head to the side and letting his arms stay limp at his sides. Jude had never seen such an expression on his face; _looks like regret_ , she thought, but then pushed the idea aside: why would he regret it?  
That's what he wondered for so long: _why did he regret it?_ He knew what was coming, he knew the risks, and _he wanted to protect her_. He wanted to protect the girl who'd tricked him on the throne, the girl that made him her puppet, her doll, to rule a kingdom she could leave anytime she wanted – except she didn't want to leave, and hated him for trying to make her. He wanted to protect her, then why was she there again? Why hadn't he sent her back to the mortal world, where she belonged, where she would've been safe? _Do you still hate me, Jude?  
_ "Keep your sword up," she growled, leaving him without an answer. Her eyes were fierce, and Cardan had to restrain himself from smiling – _why did he wanted to smile?_ \- as he tilted his head and took a step closer in her direction.  
"Do you?" he insisted, looking down at her face, trying to find something, _anything_ , that could give away her answer. But her expression remained the same, annoyed and tired at the same time, but glowing as the rush of the fight flowed in her veins.   
"Focus, _my king_ , it would be ideal if you didn't lose a limb," she retorted, clicking her tongue and moving away from him to rise her sword again. Still, he didn't move, his lips twitching with the shade of an amused smile.  
"Everybody would know it was you, so it wouldn't be nice for you either," he replied, arching his brows. _I'm willing to take a chance,_ Jude thought before sighing and putting down the sword, letting the tip of it touch the ground.  
"You're not focusing, Cardan," her voice was flat, but he noticed the nervous movement of her fingers around the sword's handle, the way she squeezed her eyes every now and then and her lips pressed together, as if she was trying to keep the words in.  
"Because I don't want to," he admitted, and her lips moved again as she shifted her position, placing her free hand on her hip.  
"You're the one who asked me to teach you, am I wrong?" _There it is_ , he thought as the nervousness in her tone grew slightly. Annoying people – that's what they did best, and he had a special talent for annoying _her_. "I don't need to be taught how to wave a sword around, I just wanted to get away from the palace with a reasonable excuse that didn't include Locke," he snorted, leaving the phrase incomplete. _A reasonable excuse that included you, Jude_. The girl rolled her eyes.  
"Then why am I here?" she questioned at last, and Cardan had to force himself not to laugh. _How can you be like this, Jude? So smart and yet so blind when it comes to the reality._ His lips twitched again, but then he took hold of his sword and got ready to strike.  
Jude was prepared. 

"The mortal world took something from you," he laughed as she backed down, sweat sticking the dress on her body, her hair wild around her head, her face _glowing_. She was enjoying that, Cardan knew, and every single move was calculated. But he wanted to hear her talk, he _needed_ to hear something leave her lips. "It made you softer," he added, and a growl escaped her lips as she hit his blade violently, pushing it away from her and preparing to hit.  
"And whose fault is that?" she muttered, lifting her weapon once again. Cardan stopped, moving back as he frowned at her words.   
"So we're talking about this again, aren't we?" he asked her, watching as her impassible expression wavered. "Your exile – except you're here now," he lifted his sword slowly, and she took the chance to hit it with all her strength, leaving him weaponless. He immediately lifted his hands in surrender, but a grin was painted on his lips again.  
"If it made me softer, if you don't need me teaching you how to _wave a sword around_ , why is yours on the ground and mine still in my hand?" Jude almost whispered then, her face flushed with anger, the tip of her sword directed towards Cardan's throat. He kept his grin on and his hands up, taking a step in her direction without hesitating a single moment – she quickly moved her sword away, incapable of holding on her furious expression as confusion took its place. She tried to take a step back, but then forced herself to maintain her position as he got closer.  
"Because I know you'll never use that against me," he replied in a murmur, his body inches away from hers as he moved one of his hands slowly, looking down at her with a little smile still bending his lips. He took hold of her chin, pushing it up so she could meet his gaze before he pressed his mouth on hers. Her whole body tensed as they crashed onto one another, his fingers still under her chin as his other hand quickly snatched the sword from her other hand, smiling on her lips at his little triumph. Jude protested slightly against his mouth, trying to move away and tensing her arm to reach of her weapon now out of her way again, but Cardan kept her close, still kissing her until she gave in. He almost threw her sword on the ground, wrapping then his arm around her waists as she pressed the fingers of her now empty hand behind his head, like she wanted to pull him closer and closer and _closer_. Then he felt the cold of a small blade against his throat and moved his head back – what her hand allowed, at least, and looked down at her face. She had her eyes open again, shimmering with amusement, and her lips – now red and plump – were bended in a smile. Cardan laughed again, pressing his hand against her back before moving his head down trying to meet her lips once more; Jude kept the little knife pressed on his throat, moving her gaze from his eyes to his mouth.  
"You're not using that either, Jude," he whispered, clearly amused. She cocked her brows and met his gaze again, slightly bending her head to the side.  
"What makes you so sure?" he wondered, keeping her voice down. Cardan laughed softly, and she felt it reverberate through the blade toward her hand. "You played with me, and then _exiled_ me, what makes you so sure I don't crave a little revenge?" she asked, slightly moving her chin up. His smile only got wider.  
"Because you played with me too, you put me into a very uncomfortable position," he replied, pressing his fingers at the sides of her face with delicacy but keeping her steady. "So I think we're even now, _wife_."


End file.
